Daily Archives: May 20, 2008

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(Photo of “Shock and Awe”)

Iceland is the world’s most peaceful nation while the United States is ranked among the bottom third, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The “Global Peace Index,” compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, ranked the United States 97th out of 140 countries according to how peaceful they were domestically and how they interacted with the outside world.

The United States slipped from 96th last year, but was still ahead of foe Iran which ranked 105th. It, however, lagged Belarus, Cuba, South Korea, Chile, Libya and others which were listed as more peaceful.

Iraq, which the United States invaded in 2003, leading to the toppling of Saddam Hussein, ranked lowest on the index. Afghanistan, another country invaded by the United States this decade, was also in the bottom five, along with Sudan, Somalia and Israel.

Open Appeal for Straight Talk on Iran

by Ray McGovern

Dear Admiral Fallon:

I have not been able to find out how to reach you directly, so I have drafted this letter in the hope it will come to your attention.

First, thank you for honoring the oath we commissioned officers take to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic. As you are doubtless aware, that oath has no expiration date; it remains on active duty, so to speak.

You have let it be known that, even though you are now retired, you do not intend to speak, on or off the record, about the looming war with Iran.

You are acutely aware of the dangers of attacking Iran, but seem to be allowing an inbred reluctance to challenge your erstwhile commander in chief to trump that oath, and to prevent you from letting the American people know of the catastrophe about to befall us if, as seems likely, our country attacks Iran.

Two years ago I lectured at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. I found it highly disturbing that, when asked about the oath they took upon entering the academy, several of the “Mids” thought it was to the commander in chief. This brought to my mind the photos of German generals and admirals (as well as top church leaders and jurists) swearing personal oaths to Hitler. Not our tradition, and yet…..

I was aghast that only the third Mid I called on got it right — that the oath is to protect and defend the Constitution, not the president.

An election-day voter stampede is expected to propel Oregon’s highest primary turnout in 20 years, state officials projected Monday.

More than 800,000 voters cast ballots in the vote-by-mail election as of Monday, and elections officials predicted another 250,000 will drop off their ballots before today’s 8 p.m. deadline.

Secretary of State Bill Bradbury estimates a turnout between 50 percent and 60 percent.

Today is Oregon’s primary. Seeing people beoming so energized and active in this election, in order to bring about necessary and urgent change, is just so exciting to me. I can’t tell you how many elections (general) are ‘called’ before we in Oregon even finish voting (though not any more since we went to mail-in ballots). It has always felt like voting was just going through the motions living on the West Coast, and my vote didn’t really matter anyway. This year feels so different – and so VERY important.